They didn't deserve a day off following their dismal showing in Saturday's 3-0 loss to the Habs at Scotiabank Place, but the Senators will need some energy with three games at home this week.

The Senators' inconsistent play has tightened everybody's collar. GM Bryan Murray is trying to make changes, coach Cory Clouston is searching for answers and the players aren't getting the job done.

While Murray has done plenty of talking with other GMs since he said he was willing to make a trade last week, he hasn't been able to find anything that will help and fit under the tight salary cap.

After calling up Zack Smith, the Senators, according to capgeek.com, are $75,000 (all terms US) under the $59.4-million cap.

The belief in NHL circles is if the 2-5-1 Senators don't beat the Coyotes on Tuesday, the heat is going to be turned up to high in Ottawa.

The Senators know their lacklustre play won't go on much longer without changes of some sort being made.

"As players, we have to focus on playing," said defenceman Chris Campoli. "Those are decisions management makes. The only thing we can focus on is playing the game and preparing ourselves to play the game. We've got to find that."

The rugged defenceman Murray is seeking isn't available. Three league executives told the Ottawa Sun on Sunday that they weren't sure of any blueliners who might be on the block because teams aren't rushing to make changes.

The Senators have been trying to peddle blueliner Brian Lee since last summer. His $875,000 contract isn't the issue, but he had a bad camp and hasn't played well, making him impossible to move.

It's believed several teams are willing to take winger Nick Foligno or struggling defenceman Erik Karlsson off the club's hands, but Murray isn't about to start unloading young players with potential.

For now, the answers have to come from within. The Senators looked like they'd turned a corner in Friday's 4-2 in Buffalo, but then embarrassed themselves Saturday.

"There's frustration. We're trying to play smart. We're trying to stick to the system, but it seems here and there we go astray," said defenceman Matt Carkner. "We're almost there. You can't say there's a lot of time to figure it out, we've got to do it now. We're testing our own patience. We don't like losing. It's just something is missing right now."

Playoff spots aren't won or lost in October, but they've nearly played 10% of their schedule already.

Foligno maintained the players are not panicking.

"It's a long season. We learned that last year," said Foligno. "We did really well and we had ups and downs. Those are going to happen. Right now, we're in a down spout. We know we can pull ourselves out of it.

"We did it against Buffalo. We've just got to find the consistency. We have the players in that locker room to do it."

Another milestone

Senators D Sergei Gonchar will suit up for his 1,000th NHL game Tuesday ... Kuba could resume practising with the team early this week.